October 19, 200323 yr Man arrested in alleged sales of pictures, not TVs, on eBay By Admin Hobbs, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Friday, October 17, 2003 WELLINGTON -- A budding young entrepreneur went on eBay in March, promising savvy television shoppers a bundle in savings on a large-screen "plasma high definition picture," the sheriff's office said. And that is just what 19-year-old Jeffrey Roberts of Wellingtondelivered. A picture -- of a big-screen plasma television. Deputies said at least four eBay shoppers from coast to coast took the bait, netting Roberts a total of $11,726. But authorities were not amused, nor were they satisfied that Roberts met the legal terms of the offer by mailing buyers a "picture." Deputies arrested Roberts, of 12064 Suellen Circle, Wednesday and charged him with grand theft. He was released from the Palm Beach County Jail Wednesday on $3,000 bond and is set to appear in court Nov. 21. "Most people thought, 'Wow! What a deal,' " said Detective Pete Palenzuela of the sheriff's business crimes unit. "The victims would send him a personal check... but instead of a television, he would FedEx them a small envelope with a picture of a television inside." The victims hailed from California, Illinois, Georgia and Connecticut, and paid anywhere from $800 to $5,100 for what they believed were high-definition plasma televisions with screens ranging from 50 to 61 inches, Palenzuela said. Such cutting-edge technology sets can cost between $8,000 and $10,000 in retail stores. Roberts' justification didn't hold up with authorities. First, he advertised in the popular online auction company's electronics section. And although the headings described the item as a "picture," the high-tech details that were included made it clear the seller was describing a television, Palenzuela said. Sang Park of Palatine, Ill., paid $3,701, thinking he had bought a 50-inch Panasonic. Park still has the computer print-out photograph that he received instead. "I said, 'You gotta be kidding' " said Park, 32, a dentist. "I e-mailed him back and he said, 'That's the item you were bidding on.' " Deputies tracked down Roberts through complaints filed by Park and others with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center. But Roberts' arrest offers little solace to Park. "After a while he basically sent me an e-mail saying that he went fishing and lost his cellphone, so there's no way to get ahold of him," Park said. "I want my money back." Link
October 19, 200323 yr What an @$$ hat that guy is for scamming people like that...but what's worse is that the people fell for it, making them look like @$$ hats in the process too!!!
October 21, 200323 yr same thing happened last x mas with the X "box" , nothing like spending 400 bucks on a cardboard box...
October 21, 200323 yr same thing happened last x mas with the X "box" , nothing like spending 400 bucks on a cardboard box... :lol
October 21, 200323 yr same thing happened last x mas with the X "box" , nothing like spending 400 bucks on a cardboard box... :o
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